Kidnapings Ecuador

A military court on Tuesday handed prison sentences to 58 air force commandos who took part in the 11-hour kidnaping of President Leon Febres Cordero last January. Thirty-six others were acquitted. Febres Cordero was released unharmed after he signed a pardon for retired air force Gen. Frank Vargas Pazzos, the commandos' former leader. Two presidential bodyguards were killed in the Jan. 16 abduction.

Seven foreign oil workers--including four Americans--kidnapped in October in Ecuador's petroleum-rich northeastern jungle were freed Thursday. An oil industry source said a $13-million ransom was paid. Ecuador's Defense Ministry said the men, who included a Chilean, an Argentine and a New Zealander, were released before noon and picked up by a military patrol. President Gustavo Noboa's office said they were "in good condition."

Seven Canadian oil workers and an American seized more than three months ago in an oil-producing region of Ecuador's Amazon jungle were released Sunday, the armed forces said. The eight men were found about 2 p.m. in the jungle near the Colombian border "after they had been released by their captors," a statement from the armed forces joint command said. The statement said they were in good health and in the care of the military and would be turned over to their respective embassies.

Kidnappers who killed a U.S. oil worker last month agreed to a ransom offer shortly before a deadline to kill another captive, Ecuador's military chief said. Four of the remaining seven hostages are American. "The criminal group said it would not execute anyone else, and I understand they have reached some economic arrangement," said Vice Adm. Miguel Saona, adding that he did not know details of the ransom plan.

Wearing an "I love Peoria" T-shirt, an Illinois gold miner freed by Colombian rebels after 61 days returned to the United States and his boyhood home. He said his kidnapers had treated him "with great respect." Scott Heimdal, 27, said earlier after arriving at Miami International Airport with his mother, Marge, that he was trying to find words to thank those in his hometown of Peoria, Ill.

Air force troopers seized President Leon Febres Cordero in a bloody uprising Friday but released him 12 hours later in exchange for the freedom of a jailed rebel general. Newspapers reported at least two men killed and eight others wounded during the abduction at the country's largest air base as about 20 rebel paratroopers opened fire on the civilian president and his 10 bodyguards as they arrived for a ceremony. The president was not seriously hurt.

Kidnappers who killed a U.S. oil worker last month agreed to a ransom offer shortly before a deadline to kill another captive, Ecuador's military chief said. Four of the remaining seven hostages are American. "The criminal group said it would not execute anyone else, and I understand they have reached some economic arrangement," said Vice Adm. Miguel Saona, adding that he did not know details of the ransom plan.

Seven foreign oil workers--including four Americans--kidnapped in October in Ecuador's petroleum-rich northeastern jungle were freed Thursday. An oil industry source said a $13-million ransom was paid. Ecuador's Defense Ministry said the men, who included a Chilean, an Argentine and a New Zealander, were released before noon and picked up by a military patrol. President Gustavo Noboa's office said they were "in good condition."

A U.S. oil worker kidnapped in the Ecuadorean jungle in October has been found shot to death, in what appears to be the work of a gang of Ecuador-based kidnappers who are holding four other Americans, U.S. officials said Thursday. The body of Ronald Clay Sander, 54, an oil technician from Missouri, was found by a roadside Wednesday morning in Sucumbios province, near Ecuador's northeastern border with Colombia.

October 13, 2000 | JUANITA DARLING and RUTH MORRIS, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Ten oil workers, including at least five Americans, were kidnapped from an Amazon jungle oil field in a hijacked helicopter on Thursday in an act that Ecuadorean officials blamed on Colombian guerrillas. Ecuadorean Vice President Pedro Pinto charged that the predawn abduction, which occurred in a remote area of Ecuador near Colombia's main coca-growing region, is rebel revenge for a $1.3-billion U.S. anti-drug package.

A U.S. oil worker kidnapped in the Ecuadorean jungle in October has been found shot to death, in what appears to be the work of a gang of Ecuador-based kidnappers who are holding four other Americans, U.S. officials said Thursday. The body of Ronald Clay Sander, 54, an oil technician from Missouri, was found by a roadside Wednesday morning in Sucumbios province, near Ecuador's northeastern border with Colombia.

October 13, 2000 | JUANITA DARLING and RUTH MORRIS, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Ten oil workers, including at least five Americans, were kidnapped from an Amazon jungle oil field in a hijacked helicopter on Thursday in an act that Ecuadorean officials blamed on Colombian guerrillas. Ecuadorean Vice President Pedro Pinto charged that the predawn abduction, which occurred in a remote area of Ecuador near Colombia's main coca-growing region, is rebel revenge for a $1.3-billion U.S. anti-drug package.

Seven Canadian oil workers and an American seized more than three months ago in an oil-producing region of Ecuador's Amazon jungle were released Sunday, the armed forces said. The eight men were found about 2 p.m. in the jungle near the Colombian border "after they had been released by their captors," a statement from the armed forces joint command said. The statement said they were in good health and in the care of the military and would be turned over to their respective embassies.

Wearing an "I love Peoria" T-shirt, an Illinois gold miner freed by Colombian rebels after 61 days returned to the United States and his boyhood home. He said his kidnapers had treated him "with great respect." Scott Heimdal, 27, said earlier after arriving at Miami International Airport with his mother, Marge, that he was trying to find words to thank those in his hometown of Peoria, Ill.

A military court on Tuesday handed prison sentences to 58 air force commandos who took part in the 11-hour kidnaping of President Leon Febres Cordero last January. Thirty-six others were acquitted. Febres Cordero was released unharmed after he signed a pardon for retired air force Gen. Frank Vargas Pazzos, the commandos' former leader. Two presidential bodyguards were killed in the Jan. 16 abduction.

Just as this normally low-key South American capital was recovering its balance after January's air base kidnaping of its president, the news broke last week that Ecuador had skipped the latest interest payments owed foreign banks. The disclosure added embarrassment on top of shock for a government that in its early months had not been accustomed to either.

Just as this normally low-key South American capital was recovering its balance after January's air base kidnaping of its president, the news broke last week that Ecuador had skipped the latest interest payments owed foreign banks. The disclosure added embarrassment on top of shock for a government that in its early months had not been accustomed to either.

Air force troopers seized President Leon Febres Cordero in a bloody uprising Friday but released him 12 hours later in exchange for the freedom of a jailed rebel general. Newspapers reported at least two men killed and eight others wounded during the abduction at the country's largest air base as about 20 rebel paratroopers opened fire on the civilian president and his 10 bodyguards as they arrived for a ceremony. The president was not seriously hurt.